


The Edge of Perdition

by buckybarnes19



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Androids, Brothers, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Relationship, Sibling Rivalry, The Borg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23705059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybarnes19/pseuds/buckybarnes19
Summary: Lore Soong is reactivated on the Enterprise a year after his last encounter with Data and he is faced with a choice: stand by and do nothing, or help Starfleet, and Data, stop a dangerous android built by the Borg using Lore's own design.
Relationships: Data & Lore (Star Trek)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Lore and Data share a special place in my heart and they have ever since I started watching Star Trek: TNG at the tender age of 12. I always felt that the writers could have done so much with Lore; he is such a dynamic character that he deserves more than the poorly written arc that the show gave him, so I'm attempting to do just that, in my own way. Comments are appreciated, let me know what you think <3

Yellow eyes, set in a white gold face, flickered open and did not squint against the bright lights in the ceiling. His first thought was that he was dead. He blinked. Did dead things blink? No. His original analysis must therefore be incorrect. If not dead, then what? He remembered that he could breathe and took a breath, air filling his synthetic lungs. It felt good to breathe again. Again... The android sat up and looked around the room. The last thing he remembered was trying to escape the unnamed planet in a ship before he was interrupted by his brother. And how long ago was that, he wondered? A day, a week, a year, ten years? There were faces looking at him, faces he recognised. Human faces, and the face of one non-human. 

"Data," he said.

His brother cocked his head to the side and looked at Lore with his characteristic dispassion. The other faces belonged to crew members of the Enterprise, humans Data had told him were his friends. Picard, Troi, and Worf. Lore looked at them with cold eyes. His lips twisted into a sneer. 

"How long have I been out this time?" Lore asked, and some bitterness crept into his voice. He couldn't help it. 

"Three hundred and eighty six days," Data replied.

"I'm surprised you woke me at all. What do you want?" Lore looked at them with narrowed eyes.

"We..." Picard looked at Lore and then Data, and back to Lore. "We need your help," he said, and it seemed he spoke through gritted teeth. 

Lore laughed, the sound ringing in the cell where they had reassembled him. "My help, the great captain Picard and the crew of the mighty Enterprise need my help." He laughed again and Troi shifted her weight from one foot to another, glancing up at Captain Picard. 

"Yes," Picard said. "Unfortunately the situation is rather dire or-"

"I imagine it must be," Lore said, and stood up. He walked toward the Captain and his darling brother, stopping just short of the forcefield, and smiled at them. "Tell me," he said, grinning, "What's got Starfleet's great Captain Picard in such a panic?"

Picard's lips thinned. He and Data exchanged a look and then Picard nodded. 

Data spoke. "The Borg have created an android based on Soong schematics. Given the advanced construction, I have concluded that the android is based on either your design or mine. The entity appears to have been created sometime after your encounter with the Borg drones, and has destroyed a Starfleet vessel and several remote outposts. We require your help in stopping them."

Lore took a breath, and then another. An android, a Soong-type android... the Borg... It all whirled through his positronic brain at record speeds yet he still had a hard time processing the information. An android... another like him... another like Data... They were no longer alone in the universe. He came back to himself and scowled. "What do you mean, stop it?" he said.

"Lore, the android is a threat to the Alpha Quadrant and must be destroyed."

Even though Lore knew more about his brother than anyone alive, he still couldn't understand how Data could speak so ruthlessly about destroying one of their own kind. This android, it was kin. Another like them. There were only three of them in the universe and Data wanted to destroy one of them and all for Starfleet, for the Federation, for these organic lifeforms. Lore shook his head in disbelief and laughed without amusement. "Data, tell me you finally have a sense of humour."

"The android must be stopped," the Klingon said. Lore didn't even look at him. His eyes lingered over Data. They looked so alike but were as different as night and day. 

"Data, this is another like us," Lore said.

"Perhaps another like you, but not Data," Troi said. Lore looked at her and then back at Data.

"The android has killed over five hundred people. They must be stopped," Data said. "Lore, before you were deactivated-"

"Before you shot me," Lore said and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Yes," Data said simply. "Before you were deactivated you said that you loved me. Did you mean it?"

Lore narrowed his eyes. "What does it matter?"

"If you and I are anything alike then you would do anything for your friends. I believe that you would do more for one you love, as I would if I were capable of feeling that emotion."

It felt like Data had slapped him in the face. Lore didn't know how to react and he sputtered out a laugh, which grew deeper and richer. "Data, you son of a bitch, I had no idea you could be so manipulative. I suppose in that way we're very alike. Got it from Often-Wrong, I guess." Data looked puzzled and opened his mouth to speak but Lore had already moved on to Picard. "What do I get if I help you? Let me guess - you disassemble me again, put me back in storage. I'm not helping you." He spun away and sat down on the cot in the Brig, glaring at the four of them with his arms crossed.

Picard took a deep breath and smiled. It looked like it pained him. "Starfleet Command is aware that you have been reassembled and has offered clemency in return for your help."

Lore flopped back against the wall while Picard spoke and was looking at the nails of his right hand with little interest. "And how am I to believe that you intend on honouring that?"

"Lore, I give you my word," Data said.

Lore snorted. "Like I can trust you, last time we met you shot me."

"Last time we met you used the emotion chip our father gave me to manipulate me into harming my friends," Data said, cool as ever. Lore rolled his eyes. 

"Captain, he's frightened," Troi said in a low voice to Picard. Lore sat up and stared at Troi. How dare she say such a thing? 

"I'm not afraid," Lore said, his voice like the snarl of a bear. His hands were fists. 

"I don't blame you for being frightened, Lore. If I were in your position, I would be too," Troi continued. 

"My position?" Lore sputtered. 

"Of course," Troi said with a shrug. "You've committed a number of crimes against the Federation and Starfleet officers, destroyed an entire planet of Federation colonists, and now you're a prisoner aboard the Enterprise. You have every reason to be frightened."

He could feel his synthetic heart pumping in his chest and his breathing was quick. He was angry, outraged even, but frightened? 

"Perhaps we'll leave you to think over the offer," Picard said. "I'll give you twenty-four hours." He turned away and the Klingon and Troi followed him. When Data hesitated Picard stopped at the door of the Brig and looked back. "Mister Data?"

"Captain, I would like to speak with my brother alone, if I may."

Picard seemed to think it over. Finally, he nodded, and he and his two officers left the Brig with solemn faces. Data turned back to look at Lore. "Captain Picard would not betray you. There is no reason for you to distrust him. If he says he will grant you clemency, you may be assured that he will not turn on his word."

Lore snorted and paced in the small cell. "The word of a Starfleet Captain. I'd sooner trust the entire Obsidian Order. What makes you think they won't deactivate me as soon as I finish helping them?" There was a minute tremble in his voice and Lore suddenly hated himself. Truthfully, he was afraid, afraid of losing himself again to that black emptiness... 

"Lore, Captain Picard is my friend," Data said, as if it were that simple. "I have trusted him with my life. No other person has fought for, and protected, my rights as an individual more than he has. He has promised me that if you help us, you will be released outside of Federation territory."

"What if I don't help?" 

If possible, Data looked pained. "Then you will be resigned to a penal colony specially outfitted to detain you."

Lore narrowed his eyes, thinking, weighing the pros and cons. The idea of a Federation penal colony was sickening- to sit there and be counseled, made to see the error of his ways... if he could feel nausea he would at the the prospect of spending his days in Federation custody. Then again there was always the hope of escape. Often-Wrong hadn't done much for Lore but he had taught him the value of always having a back-up plan. If he went with Starfleet and helped them then he might be able to build a life for himself, and he had to admit he was curious about the Borg android...

"Well, I wouldn't want that," Lore said. "But I don't like the idea of helping Starfleet."

Data raised his eyebrows. "Then do it for me."

Lore looked at him for a long time, and then nodded. "All right, Data, I'll do it for you."


	2. Chapter 2

“I don’t know how you expect me to deal with this threat to the Federation from behind a forcefield.”

Lore stood with his arms crossed and a pout on his face while Data and La Forge debriefed him on the other side of the forcefield. His brother and La Forge looked at each other, La Forge with a scowl on his face. Data’s face was, of course, characteristically blank.

“Can’t you talk to Picard and get me out of here?” Lore said, dropping his arms and placing his hands on his hips. He glared at the pair of them, and rolled his eyes when La Forge spoke. 

“Sorry, but you’re stuck in there,” he said. Lore could tell from the tone of his voice that La Forge wasn’t really sorry at all. Lore rolled his eyes again.

“I would be much more help if I were free,” Lore said, enunciating every word. “Now, if you would just let me go, we’d all be much happier.”

“I calculate a 93.2 percent chance that, given your past behaviour, you will attempt to harm the crew of the Enterprise.” This came from Data. Who else could have so little faith in him, Lore thought to himself.

Lore threw his arms in the air and paced a few steps back and forth in his cell. “I can’t do much in this cage,” he said, the words bursting from him in his frustration. “I can’t read the P.A.D.D.s you bring me, I can barely give you accurate analyses… talk to Picard,” he said, stepping so close to the forcefield he could hear it buzz. “Talk to Picard or I won’t help you anymore.”

Data’s face was blank and Lore glared at him, seething. How he hated that smug, arrogant face. La Forge, beside Data, was scowling. 

“I’ve had enough of this, c’mon Data, let’s go,” he said, and spun on his heel toward the Brig door. He turned back around when Data didn’t immediately follow. 

“Lore,” Data said in a tone of voice Lore associated with parents admonishing their children, “your behaviour is most untoward. Geordi and I are only trying to help you. I think you should apologise to Commander La Forge.”

Lore narrowed his eyes.

“That’s not necessary. Data we should really get back to Engineering and analyze our findings from the Borg ship.” Geordi waited at the door for his friend to join him but Data stood by Lore’s cell and looked at his brother with a calm, level gaze. 

Lore glared back at him. And then he sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said to La Forge. He crossed his arms and wished he could transport himself to anywhere else, but of course the crew had already made that impossible for him. “Now will you talk to Picard? Please?” he added when Data raised his eyebrows. 

“I do not believe the captain will allow you to roam freely, given the circumstances of your previous behaviour.”

“I think we can all agree those circumstances have changed.” His voice was heated and he fought to keep it from rising. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes for a moment and tried to find a sense of calm. “You have the Borg on one hand, an android based on my schematics on the other- both of those things are highly dangerous on their own, but you’re facing both at once. You’re in a lot more trouble from them than you are from me, and I can actually help you if you let me out of here.” Lore hunched his shoulders and licked his lips, then paced back and forth a few steps. “Please, Data, I’m your brother. I know it’s a lot to ask after… after everything, but I’m going crazy in here.”

Data was silent for a long moment, and then finally he nodded. “I understand. I will speak to the captain but I predict that he will not allow you to roam the ship freely.”

“I’ll put up with whatever security measures Picard feels are necessary. Just,” he clenched his hands into fists, “get me the hell out of here.”

Data nodded once. “I will speak to the captain.”

“That’s all I ask,” Lore said, and as Data turned and left the Brig with La Forge, Lore sat down on the bed and realised that he actually felt grateful.

-

It was hours before Lore heard anything from his brother about his freedom. He lay on the cot, staring up at the ceiling and humming La Boheme and wishing there was something to do. The Borg threat seemed so far away and the allure of another Soong-type android had diminished as his stay in the Brig lengthened. He thought of the Holodeck and how freeing it would be to step inside and create a nature scene. He wanted to feel a cool breeze and the warmth of the sun on his face. Anything would be better than this cold, unfeeling light and this confinement, these four walls of his cell. Lore would never admit it to anyone, not even Data, but he was never a fan of small spaces- another error in Lore’s programming that Often-Wrong had never bothered to correct.

La Boheme came to an end and Lore sighed. He started humming Carmen when the Brig doors opened. Still lying on his back, Lore turned his head and watched as Captain Picard entered the Brig. Lore sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed but did not rise. His eyes met Picard’s as the captain came to stand in front of Lore’s cell. 

“It is my understanding that you wish to be let out of your cell,” Picard said. His face and voice were neutral.

“Yes,” Lore said, his fingers gripping the edge of the bed. 

“You must know that I cannot allow that.”

Lore blinked and bit back a nasty retort. It took everything in him not to burst at the captain, a man he needed on his side if he were to be free of this prison. Lore took a breath and then another. “What I know, captain, is you have the Borg threatening you on one side, a Borg-controlled android closing in on the other, and you and I are trapped in the middle. This isn’t an ideal situation for either of us, but I can help you- just not from this prison cell. Starfleet asked you to reactivate me for a reason-”

“Starfleet ordered me to reactivate you, otherwise I would be perfectly happy to leave you in storage.” Picard’s face was hard and unforgiving. Lore took a breath, knowing that he was in dangerous territory. There was nothing for it but the truth. 

“I don’t particularly care for you either, captain. I don’t particularly care for anyone, really- except maybe Data. I told him I would help you and that’s what I plan on doing, and the best way for me to do that is if I’m on the other side of this forcefield. And look at it this way,” he said with a shrug, “I’m a hell of a lot less of a risk than the Borg.”

Captain Picard paused before answering. “I’m not so sure I believe that. You destroyed the colony on Omicron Theta, killed your own father, and attempted to kill Commander Data after manipulating him.”

“Regrettable actions, captain,” Lore said, allowing his face and voice to show sadness. Something in his chest twinged and he wondered what it was… It was a feeling of some kind, something he hadn’t felt before… He didn’t know how to quantify it. Perhaps the organics had done something wrong when they were putting him together. He wouldn’t put it past them. He ran a self-diagnostic while he spoke to Picard. “But I did what I had to do to ensure my own survival. You can understand that, can’t you? I’m sure as a Starfleet captain you’ve had to kill or be killed. Data told me that you’ve fought for his rights in the past. I never had the good fortune to have someone fight for mine. I was always alone, since the beginning. Don’t I deserve the same chances Data’s had?”

Picard opened his mouth but before he could speak the Brig doors whisked open and Counselor Troi walked in, her dark eyes moving from Captain Picard to Lore, who recoiled. Telepaths always made him uncomfortable.

“Sorry I’m late, captain,” Troi said as she stood next to Picard and looked in on Lore. Picard nodded and looked from Troi to Lore, who was feeling more and more like an animal trapped in a cage. He took a breath and did his best to keep calm before Troi could pick up on exactly how uncomfortable she made him. 

“Counselor,” he said smoothly, and gave her a smile to match, a smile that she did not return. “Please tell the captain how sincere I am about wanting to help the Enterprise in these dire times.”

Counselor Troi raised her eyebrows and looked at him for a long moment before turning to Picard. “He is sincere, captain, he really does want to help… but his veneer is so practiced and polished that I fear it may crack. He has disdain for the both of us and a certain aggression toward me-”

“I never did like telepaths, or empaths, for that matter,” Lore said. “No offense, I just-”

“You like to present what you want to present and someone who sees through your mask is a threat,” Troi said, her voice cool. 

Lore narrowed his eyes and then flashed a brilliant smile. “Not the way I would have put it, but…” He shrugged. “Captain Picard, I hope you have everything you need, now if you would just let me go…” 

Troi blinked. “You’re claustrophobic.” 

“Claustrophobic,” Picard repeated, and looked at Lore in mild surprise. “I didn’t know androids could have irrational fears.”

“Well, I guess I’m the first one,” Lore said, glaring at him. “Old Often-Wrong never bothered to fix it. I’m sure Data’s the perfect android with no flaws but I’m far more human.” He almost choked on the word and continued speaking quickly, driving the conversation back on course. “Now, if we can get back to the subject of my release, I-”

“Captain, I think we should let Lore out.”

“What?” Lore and Picard said in unison, both turning to look at the Counselor. 

Her eyes were bright and she looked at Lore with curiosity and interest. “There’s something very different about the android we encountered two years ago and the one in our Brig. I’m not saying he should be able to wander the ship at will-”

“No, certainly not,” Picard said with a dark expression. 

“But with certain conditions, a security team and a curfew, perhaps, maybe even counseling once or twice a week, I believe that Lore could contribute positively to the crew.”

“I don’t know about the counseling but I can tolerate the rest,” Lore said and looked at Picard. It seemed that the captain was thinking over what Troi told him, every now and then looking at Lore, who kept his face as neutral as possible. Picard walked the length of the Brig with his head bowed, deep in thought, while Lore and Troi watched him. Finally, Piard stood in front of Lore. 

“I will allow you a temporary leave from the Brig, however, you will be accompanied by a security team at all times, you will return to your quarters at sixteen-hundred hours everyday unless I order otherwise, and you will do exactly as Counselor Troi recommends in therapy. If you violate my orders I will throw you back in the Brig, is that clear?” The captain’s voice was harsh but his conditions were no worse than what Lore thought might happen.

Lore smiled and saluted the captain. “Yes sir. Thank you, I promise work worthy of my dear brother.”

Picard did not look impressed. He tapped his communicator. “Picard to Data, report to Brig Holding Cell 3.”

“On my way, sir,” came Data’s voice over the air. Counselor Troi looked at Lore, who glanced back at her. No doubt she sensed the irritation at hearing Data’s obedient voice. There was a tense silence, finally broken when Data arrived.

“Data, I’m assigning you to Lore for the remainder of his stay. You will accompany him wherever he goes and keep him out of restricted areas.”

“Understood, sir,” Data said, and looked at Lore. 

Lore smiled back at him. “If you would kindly drop the forcefield, dear brother, we can be on our way.”

Data looked at Captain Picard, who hesitated, and then nodded. Data approached the panel next to the holding cell and punched in the key to drop the forcefield, while Lore watched everything he did with a hawk’s eyes. The light of the forcefield flickered, and died. Lore felt a thrill of excitement as he stepped out of the cell and into the Brig proper, and couldn’t resist the smile that spread across his face. The look on Data’s face was neutral; Counselor Troi looked a little apprehensive but she gave him the flicker of a smile, and Picard’s face was on the verge of a scowl. It didn’t matter, not to Lore, who was getting his first taste of freedom in days. He grinned. “All right,” he said. “Which way to Engineering? I have an idea for how to stop this android that’s worrying you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, it's been a while and interest in this fic sure has surged! I hope y'all like the new chapter <3

Lore paced around the room, picking things up at random and placing them back down without paying attention to whether they were in the right spot. He felt everyone's eyes on him. Counselor Troi was here, so were Data and two of Lore's armed escorts. The other two guards waited outside. Data had been kind enough to supply the exact stun setting it would take to incapacitate Lore, just in case he ran wild and tried to destroy the ship "Again," as Data had put it, and Lore felt something roll over in his core, a feeling he couldn't identify. Lore cast his brother a dark look and continued his pacing through Troi's office. 

"Lore, why don't you have a seat?" she said, and gestured to an empty chair beside Data. It was the second time she'd offered it to him and he glared at it for a long moment before he flung himself into the squishy seat. "There, that's better," Troi said with a smile. There was a table separating them and a small potted plant on top of it, a cactus Lore knew to be native to the North American region of Earth. Lore leaned forward and picked it up, prodding at its needles experimentally and ignoring everything else in the room. "Are you interested in plants, Lore?" Troi asked, in a manner that was supposed to be both friendly and disarming. Lore wasn't fooled. He set the cactus back on the desk with a loud thud. 

"I'm interested in getting this over with as soon as possible. How long am I stuck here, anyway?"

"An hour," the Counselor said in that same friendly tone. She was sitting across from him with her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly on her knees, looking at him with polite interest. 

Lore set his internal chronometer to alert him when sixty minutes had passed. He said nothing. 

"You agreed to sit with Counselor Troi once a week as part of the conditions of your release," Data said, leaning toward Lore ever so slightly. 

"I remember," Lore snapped, and slumped in his chair. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Have you ever seen a counselor before, Lore?" Troi asked. 

He looked at her and examined the details of her face. Humanoids aged so quickly and he, of course, hadn't aged at all since their last encounter. She had been his prisoner then, back when he was leading the Borg, although he had very little to do with her back then. Now that he was in this situation he wished he knew her a little better. She was half-Betazoid, he knew that, plus a few little tidbits Data had told him back when they had been working together. He could tell that she was smart, and he supposed she was pretty for a humanoid. He'd never been a great judge of human beauty standards. He tended to avoid humans if he could, since they had a nasty habit of disassembling him.

Lore shook his head. "No, I've never seen a counselor before." He sighed and checked with his internal chronometer. Fifty-six minutes remaining. Time on the Enterprise didn't seem to move at all.

"I know it's not exactly your cup tea, but thank you for coming. I know how hard it can be to approach therapy. It's brave of you."

"I suppose," Lore said, and despite his pride he felt a squirm of pleasure at the compliment. He scowled and crossed his arms, suddenly angry with himself. 

"It's true," Counselor Troi continued, uncrossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees. "The first time we met I never would have thought, in a million years, you and I would be sitting here talking like this."

Lore nodded and stared at the carpet, a dull colour he couldn't quite define but which he thought would look best vaporized by a phaser. "What are we supposed to talk about in these sessions, anyway?"

Counselor Troi smiled and said, "What would you like to talk about?"

"I would like to get out of here." It was the truth. 

"If you do not cooperate then I will be forced to return you to the Brig," Data said. 

"It's okay, Data. Lore, why don't you tell me about your father?"

Lore suspected that she would bring up family, especially with Data here. He sighed and sat up in his chair. 

Often-Wrong. That's what the colonists called him, that's what everybody called him except Juliana... and Lore. Mostly the taunts came from behind Soong's back but now and then someone would shout it in the street and Soong would wave it off with a smile that Lore noticed didn't reach his eyes. The truth was that Noonian Soong was a brilliant scientist and cyberneticist. He managed to build several unsuccessful positronic models before finally succeeding with his creation of Lore, and Data soon after.

"That's all well and good," Troi said, "but I asked you to tell me about your father. What was Noonian Soong like as a person? How did the two of you relate? How do you feel about him?"

Lore was certain she knew the answers to all of those questions and that this was a waste of time. Forty-five minutes until he had to return to the Brig. He fidgeted in his chair. "Well... he wasn't exactly the type to take you out for a game of catch, unless it was to test your reflexes. He..." He searched, thinking. "I suppose he was arrogant, to a degree. All the androids he created looked exactly like him. I never asked why. I always assumed it was a human thing. He spent a lot of my childhood testing my functions and making sure everything was working properly. He spent a lot of time in his lab. He was absolutely brilliant by human standards, but was he a good father? No."

"What makes you say that?" Troi asked, and Lore noticed that Data was leaning closer to him, listening to every word.

"He took me apart," Lore burst. His hands were fists. 

"Is that why you killed him?" Data asked. 

Lore looked at his younger brother, at that blank, unreadable face, and wondered what he would lose if he punched Data right in the mouth. Too much, he reminded himself, and took a breath to calm down. "He- He deserved it." Lore's voice shook. 

"It doesn't sound like you mean it," Troi pointed out. Her voice was gentle.

"He never liked me. I was just a failed experiment," Lore said, doing everything he could to relax. He returned to staring at the floor. There was something comforting about its ugly no-colour. "Data was the son he always wanted."

"Because Data's positronic brain-"

"Was less screwed up than mine."

There was a long moment of silence during which Lore avoided looking at anyone, but he knew Data and Troi were exchanging looks and waiting for Lore to speak. He refused. He felt that he'd said too much anyway. There was still more than half an hour until he could return to the Brig.

"Lore, Data told me about what happened on Terlina III. About how you and your father talked about your programming. Data told me there's hardly a difference between the two of you. Do you believe that?"

"I know it's true," Lore snapped. 

"I think you feel as though your father abandoned you. I also think you have every reason to be angry."

Lore continued to glare at the carpet, and then he blinked and looked at Troi. "You do?"

"Of course. Feelings are always valid, it's what you do with them that's good or bad. And if I were in your position and my father took me apart and left me in storage, I would be angry too."

It was some kind of trick, it had to be. Lore thought about what they had to gain by coddling him, and the only thing he could come up with was compliance. But he was already following their orders and doing everything that was asked of him. Not with the best attitude, but he was doing it. So what then? What did she gain by- by being kind to him? He ran the numbers, weighed the pros and cons, and finally he came up with the only answer: nothing. She didn't gain anything by showing him kindness. Lore squirmed in his seat, unsure how to process all this. It was a little too much for him. He thought of the early days, of his childhood, how events like this would send him spiraling toward cascade failure, and he would panic, and then there was Often-Wrong, his father, with a steady hand and a grim face, there to correct the problem. 

"What else can you tell me about your father?" Troi asked. 

"What else is there to say?" Lore said, crossing his arms over his chest and slumping back in his chair. "He was a brilliant cyberneticist and a terrible father."

"You must hate him a great deal."

Lore looked at her. "No!" he said, the passion in his voice startling him. "I... I wouldn't say I hated him. Or maybe I did... what does it matter? He's dead now."

"It sounds to me as though you had a complicated relationship with your father. You loved him but he took you apart."

Lore looked at her with suspicion, wondering where this was going. "I guess, yeah. He said he had to do it."

"What do you think?"

"I think he should have fixed me instead of building his precious Data." The words burst out of Lore, who sat glaring at his brother. Data looked back at him with that blank white face and the longer Lore stared at him the deeper and hotter his anger burned until he couldn't stand it anymore. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the security guards who drew their phasers, and he paced around the room.

"Lore, why don't you sit down," Counselor Troi said. Her voice was calm despite his obvious temper. 

"I don't want to sit down." Lore's voice was a snarl. 

Data stood up. "Counselor, perhaps you should leave this to me."

The words only made Lore's temper flare. "Shut up, Data. Precious Data, darling Data. You were always his favourite, weren't you? Soong built me first, I was the first, but he wasn't satisfied and had to make you. And you're supposed to be his perfect creation? You? You can't even use a contraction." Lore was shaking. He stared across the room at Data, his breath coming quickly and his synthetic heart pounding inside his chest. Everyone in the room was looking at him, the security officers with their phasers drawn and ready to fire, Troi with her eyebrows raised, and Data with his face drawn in a frown.

"Do you consider the use of contractions to be an indicator of higher function, brother?"

Lore blinked. He stared at his brother, and then he surprised everyone by bursting into laughter, a deep, rich sound that filled Counselor Troi's office. "Dammit Data," he said when he could speak. "Why are you so... so cute?"

Data frowned again, his head moving from side to side as he processed Lore's words, and Lore laughed again and resumed his seat across from Counselor Troi, who looked at him with a smile. 

"I can feel your happiness, Lore," she said. "It's all right," she said to the security guards, who looked at each other and then slowly put away their phasers. Lore ignored them. "Data, you can sit down, it's all right, sometimes people get angry in therapy. It's perfectly normal."

"I understand, Counselor. Lore, what did you mean when you called me cute?" Data said, looking at his brother with a look of puzzlement on his face.

Lore shrugged. "Forget about it."

"I am incapable of forgetting," Data said.

Lore rolled his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Lore leaned against the wall in Engineering. The security team that followed him everywhere was close by, watching him as always. They were his private ghosts, so Lore thought, soundlessly following alongside him wherever he went. At first Lore found them annoying but gradually, as the days passed, he was less annoyed and more amused, and then eventually they were nothing but the ghosts he imagined them to be, following along silently, there at every moment of the day, except when he was locked inside his quarters. Lore treasured his time alone, found joy in the fact that he was alive, that he was no longer sitting on a shelf or in storage, or floating through the vast emptiness of space. He hadn't felt such joy since he was rescued by the Pakled trade ship all those years ago. The aloneness didn't bother him as it might bother a human. He was used to being alone. Even from the very beginning, when he had awoken on that slab in Often-Wrong's laboratory, he had found comfort in solitude. At the time, Lore was the only one of his kind in the universe and no one else could truly console him in his loneliness, so he had shouldered it and borne it with him all his life until the weight of it was a hard comfort. Even when he and Data had found each other he found it difficult to eschew his solitude and let his brother into his life. It was a hard life, and Data was not a hard man, and Lore, perhaps, was too hard. 

Lore looked up at the sound of his name, stirred from his thoughts by a raised voice. La Forge and Data were both looking at him, Data with concern and and La Forge with irritation. It was no secret that La Forge didn't like him, though Lore thought the engineer should at least give him a chance. After all, he was doing everything to help the Enterprise crew, wasn't he? If he helped anymore he might as well throw on a Starfleet uniform. 

"I said," La Forge's voice was touched with his famous annoyance, "it seems that the Borg made some enhancement to Soong's positronic design. Their android can generate forcefields, and-"

Lore interrupted. "Yes, it's just like the Borg to... tinker, for lack of a better word. Even when I was in charge of a group of them-"

"You mean, when you led a cult," La Forge said, scowling over his computer monitor. He straightened and looked at Lore with his arms crossed over his chest. 

"To-may-to, to-mah-to," Lore said and shrugged. He may have La Forge to thank for reassembling him and correcting the damage from the emotion chip, but he didn't have to like him. "As I was saying, even when I led a group of them they could never stop tinkering, trying to improve everything around them. Once they had a stable leader, of course. That's what it's like on a Borg ship, you know. Once a drone is assimilated and its knowledge is processed by the collective, that new information spreads like a disease and the drones go about changing the ship to reflect positive improvements gained through assimilation... It's really quite fascinating. If it isn't happening to you, that is." 

"Hmm," Data said, and looked from La Forge to Lore as he spoke. "Perhaps there is a way to take advantage of that fact by introducing a virus into the android's systems."

"Like we tried with Hugh," La Forge said, thinking over Data's suggestion. "It's a possibility. I don't know how we would deliver it."

"Details," Lore said with a shrug. "Is this the same sense of individuality you infected Hugh with before?"

"No," Data said. "Prior to gaining his independence from the Borg Collective, we designed an unsolvable geometric formula-"

"Ah, I see," Lore said, nodding his head. "It would have spread like a virus. And Picard approved this? I'm surprised, usually he's all in love with the, what do you call it? The Prime Directive."

"Captain Picard had an experience with the Borg that resulted in his assimilation-"

"Yes, Data, I know, I'm being flippant," Lore said and rolled his eyes. "Okay, so let's call this Plan A. What's Plan B?"

La Forge and Data looked at each other. "We haven't gotten that far yet," the Chief Engineer said. 

"Brilliant. No wonder you needed my help. What can you tell me about this new android?"

"She's fast, strong, agile... like I said, she's exactly like you or Data but it seems the Borg have made some enhancements to the Soong design. She can generate forcefields, transport interdimensionally... who knows what else?"

Lore nodded slowly, taking it all in.

"You don't look surprised," La Forge said. 

"Should I be? The Borg have created an android, I can only assume they would have given her all the bells and whistles."

"All the bells and whistles?" Data said, frowning. 

"It's an expression, Data, it means she's top of the line," La Forge said with a touch of impatience.

"A real Model-T Ford," Lore said. He looked from Data's confused face to La Forge. "Data and I will get to work on creating an unsolvable puzzle complex enough to overpower this android, and in the meantime you can talk to Picard about getting us back to the Osiris system."

La Forge looked from Lore to Data, who nodded his approval. Lore fought to control his temper, something Troi said he was going to have to get better at if he was going to be on the Enterprise for a while. 'It's important that you learn how to relate to others in a positive manner,' she had said. 'We're not your enemies, Lore.' No, but they still trusted him about as much as a Klingon brush devil on a rampage. 

Have you given them any reason not to? Lore shook his head at the unbidden thought. He supposed it was true. There was the small matter of him trying to feed the crew to the Crystalline Entity... and then he'd kidnapped their second officer and manipulated him into torturing his friends... Something squirmed inside Lore's brain, a feeling he wasn't used to and one that kept appearing more often the longer he spent on the Enterprise. There must be some kind of interference in the air, but no matter how many self-diagnostics he ran everything came back normal. 

"All right," La Forge said. "Data," he said, nodding to his friend. To Lore he said nothing, merely gave him a look that Lore assumed was supposed to be threatening. He rolled his eyes back at La Forge. As though Lore could do anything untoward with a security team following him everywhere. 

"All right, Data, let's get to work," Lore said, rounding the console to join his brother. They bent over the computer together, and Lore sensed that Data wanted to say something. "Data, you can say anything you want to me. You're the only person in the universe that has my back, I'm not going to risk losing that." He gave Data a smile while Data looked almost apprehensive.

"I am concerned about your hostility toward Geordi." 

"Well, if he would stop being annoying and second-guessing me all the time I wouldn't be so hostile. And besides, I'm not being overly hostile, I'm just letting him know what I think of him. I've always told you, Data, you can't place too much faith in these humans. They may smile at you and be kind to you but eventually they'll grow tired of playing nice and show what they really are."

Data frowned. "While some humans and other humanoids have responded to me with hostility and outright aggression, I have never felt the need to show such aggression in turn. Captain Picard has taught me that one must judge a person, or a group of persons, based on their actions. As Shakespeare said-"

"Don't," Lore said, his voice commanding, "quote Shakespeare to me. I can't stand Shakespeare. The fact that his works have survived this long-"

"Is a testament to both his skill as a wordsmith and the impact and meaning of his works. Captain Picard says that no one understood the human condition better than Shakespeare."

"Well, if Picard says so it must be true," Lore said, his fingers moving rapidly over the computer screen. 

"Your hostility toward the captain will not get you very far," Data pointed out.

"I have a problem with authority figures, I guess. Unless I am the authority figure, of course, but few people have the sense to give me command of anything."

"With good reason," Data said.

-

Later, Lore was gathered with the senior staff in the conference room. Data sat on his left and Worf on his right. Across from him, he peered over Riker's shoulder at the black, starry sky beyond and ignored the uncomfortable silence that his presence generated. Doctor Crusher, who still hadn't forgiven him for trying to kill her son, was shooting him ugly looks from across the table that Lore pointedly ignored. In fact, it seemed no one was particularly pleased to have him there and Lore continued to stare out across the table at the cool, uncompromising stars out the window. 

The doors whisked open and Captain Picard strode into the room and took his seat at the head of the table. The uncomfortable silence reached a new high as Picard looked around the table. Everyone looked back at him, patiently waiting to begin, all except for Lore, who looked elsewhere. 

"Mister Data, report," Picard said. 

"Lore, Commander La Forge, and myself are working on creating an unsolvable puzzle that will infect the Borg android like a virus."

Picard nodded. "Like you did with Hugh."

"Exactly, sir. It should induce a cascade failure that will effectively kill the android."

"Is there no way we can convince the android to come over to our side? Must we kill it?" Crusher asked.

Lore snorted. She glared at him and he grinned. "This thing is capable of killing thousands, it moves as fast as Data and I, it's just as strong, it has abilities that we've never seen before- and you want to make it your pet. Please." He laughed. The sound was hollow. 

"I didn't say I wanted to make the android my pet," Doctor Crusher said, her voice cold. "I simply said-"

"Doctor," Picard said, raising his hand to stop her. Her blue eyes flashed but she fell silent. "Lore, perhaps you could keep your attitude in check," Picard said, his voice as frosty as the doctor's. 

"My attitude," Lore began, but the captain's glare was ferocious, and Counselor Troi looked at him in a way he could only describe as admonishing. "Fine. Whatever," he said, and then fell silent. 

"I haven't been able to sense anything from the android except the darkest of emotions... hatred, anger, and a strong desire to kill. I don't think we would be able to persuade her to deviate from that path. The only kind of happiness she experiences is doing her work for the Borg. She's probably programmed that way," Counselor Troi said with a look at Lore. He thought it looked apologetic. 

Captain Picard nodded. "Thank you, counselor." He turned back Data. "How soon can you begin?"

"Lore and I have already begun constructing the program. We should be ready to implement it as soon as we reach the Osiris system," Data said.

Picard nodded. Riker said, "How do you plan on infecting the android?"

Data and Geordi glanced at each other. "We're not sure about that part yet. With Hugh it was easy," La Forge said. "He was already on the Enterprise and he was friendly. This new android..." He exhaled. "She's fast, captain, and she's strong. She's not like Data, she's hell bent on destroying us. I don't know how we're going to infect her."

Picard and Riker looked over at each other and then Picard nodded slowly, thinking. "I agree, it won't be easy. We'll have to get in close contact with her and I doubt she has an off switch. Any suggestions?"

There was a long moment of silence . Data and La Forge looked at each other. La Forge looked troubled. Nobody seemed to want to make eye contact with Lore. Eventually, he cleared his throat to remind them he was still there. "If you modify a tricorder with one of our actuation servos, it should knock her out no problem." 

"It will have a limited range," Worf said. 

"But it will work," La Forge said, nodding. When he looked at Lore the android thought he saw a touch of grudging respect in La Forge's face. 

"Excellent," the captain said. "Commander Riker, set a course for the Osiris system. Mister Worf, make sure our tactical systems are at their best. Geordi, the same with Engineering. Doctor, you'll want to prepare Sick Bay for casualties. Data, Counselor, I'd like a word. The rest of you are dismissed."

Lore remained seated until the captain stared at him and then, with reluctance, he stood, casting a dark look at Picard as he left the room with his security team. He was certain that Picard was talking to Counselor Troi and his brother about him- as Data would say, he calculated that fact by a factor of one hundred percent. So why was he forced to leave? He shook his head as he followed the others out onto the Bridge and into a turbolift. Humans, he would never understand them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
